The research objective is to define the process of adaptation in high school students attending contrasting school environments and to specify the conditions for the expression of adaptive and maladaptive behavior in the high school. The long-term objective is to provide a conceptualization of person and environment interaction which will be useful to both researchers and reformers of educational institutions. We intend to exploit longitudinal and cross-sectional data collected over the last five years in three high schools. Techniques will include multivariate analysis, multiple and partial correlation, step-wise regression, and cross-lagged panel techniques. We will present findings and conclusions in one book and numerous journal articles and conference papers, and will make a concerted effort to affect the educational process by feeding practical implications back into educational practice in subject schools and by systematic discussion with educational policy makers at the national level.